SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, May 30: On March 4, Kalpana Soren, 48, broke down and sobbed like a child while speaking of her husband and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s arrest by the ED at the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) foundation day in Giridih.
Some two months later, when the electioneering for the Lok Sabha came to an end today, she emerged to be a different Kalpana Soren.
Kalpana addresses 50 election rallies
She not only led a spirited election campaign across Jharkhand but also joined the INDI Alliance’s election rallies in Delhi and Mumbai. “She has addressed at least 50 election rallies and around 300 small public meetings since April 29 when she filed her nomination for the Gandey by-elections,” pointed out Tanuj Khatri, her media advisor.
Kalpana adapts to new role
A political watcher said she had adapted quickly to her new role and galvanised the JMM workers worried about the party’s future after Hemant Soren’s arrest in the land scam and JMM patriarch Shibu Soren’s ill health.
People attended her meetings in good numbers and she not only played the sympathy card but also generated trust among them to lead the state in the future.
Kalpana steers clear of family feud
As an astute politician, Kalpana, with BTech and MBA degrees, steered clear of the feud in her family and never attacked her sister-in-law Sita Soren, who joined the BJP after quitting the JMM owing to her elevation as the face of the JMM.
Sari-clad, she has raised her issues extempore. She never read out a scripted speech. “Whatever she spoke, it was straight from her heart (Dil Se). So, there was no time limit to her speech, and it connected well with her constituents,” Khatri added.
Born to an army officer and homemaker, Kalpana spoke like a mature politician everywhere. Beginning her speech with a smiling demeanour, she always concluded by proclaiming, “Jharkhand jhukega nahi (Jharkhand will not bow down.)”
Kalpana focussed on three issues
She mainly focussed on three issues. First, her allegation that the BJP well-orchestrated conspiracy to send Hemant Soren (aapka apna beta, apna dada jisko aapne mukhya mantri banaya) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections; Second, the Centre’s apathy to Jharkhand and third, various welfare and development schemes launched by her husband.
In her speeches, Kalpana always reminded that Hemant was punished for standing up to the central government. His arrest, she repeatedly said, is not just an attack on the self-respect of Hemant Soren but of Jharkhandis. She also recounted how Hemant Soren managed the crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kalpana likely to win trust of people
Moreover, people, mostly women waited at rallies and nukkad meetings to listen to her. In a way, her entry into politics has helped the JMM in its outreach to women voters. “It was not only out of sympathy for her but also a trust in her,” said a poll analyst, adding she will rightly claim the legacy of Shibu Soren if she is able to shore up the number of the INDI Alliance seats in Jharkhand .
“She had filled the void created by the absence of Hemant Soren and Shibu Soren during the elections. In a way, the JMM has got a leader who has demonstrated her innate ability to lead the party,” he pointed out.
“But then, one will have to wait till June 4 to see whether she has been able to make the BJP’s road to ‘400 par’ difficult or it was just a bubble which did not rise from the bottom of a deep river or it was on the surface only,” mused a political watcher.
